Car-vestibule and step therefor



I M l.) 2 sheets-sheet 1;

. A. J. BARBER. GAR VESTIBULE AND STEP THEREFOR.

' No. 461,156. Patented 00t.=13, 1891.

UNITED STATEs PATENT OFFICE.

ARTHUR J. BARBER, or soDUs, NEW YORK.

CAR-VESTIBULE AND STEP THEREFOR.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 461,156, dated October13, 1891.

Application filed February 16, 1891. Serial NO. 381602. (No model.)

To all whom it may concern.- 1

Be it known that I, ARTHUR J. BARBER, a

resident of Sodus, in the county of \Vayne the car, havinga series ofvertically-movable steps, which when raised shall make a part of theplatform-floor and which can be lowered within about a foot of theground, and which can be raised and lowered, eachstep being alwayshorizontal and within the plane of the side of the car; and it has forits further object to combine steps with a movable door, adapted toclose the side of the vestibule when the steps are elevated and to bemoved out of the way when the steps are lowered.

The invention consists in the constructions hereinafter described andpointed out.

'In the accompanying drawings, Figure 1 is a perspective of the end of acar with the improvement applied thereto. Fig. 2 is a section on theline 00 0c of Fig. 1. Fig.3 is aperspective view, partly in section, ofa detail.

Numeral 1 denotes acustomary spring-buffer or bellows-frame about equalin area to the end of the car and situated outside the rail 2. Thecar-door is denoted by 3- and the stationary part of the car-platformbye. The coupling-lever and brake-wheel, which ,are both within thevestibule, are indicated, respectively, by 5 and 6. The side doors ofthe vestibule are indicated by 7 and 7', the former being shown aselevated and the latter lowered.

8 indicates the steps in their lowest position, and 9 denotes similarsteps on the opposite side raised to a level with the platformfloor.

Levers for raising and lowering, the steps a link 22.

vers and the inner upper side bars 13 of the step-frame.

14 denotes the lower innerbars of the frames, and 15 and 16 are parallelcorresponding outer bars. The tread orhorizontalportion of each steprests upon andis secured to the ends 17 which are pivoted at their upperfront and lower rear corners and at each end to the upper and lowerbars. The end pieces can conveniently be made of angle-iron.

Each of the side bars has a pivoted section and these four bar-sections13, 14', 15, and 16 support the lower step, all the connections beingpivoted. The main sections of said bars are pivoted at their upper ends,preferably, on a rod 17, and the lower main sections on a rod 18. Rod 17is also the fulcrum of lever 10. The short arm 10 of said lever isconnectedby a link-19 to an arm 20, rigidly connected to the side bar14.

21 is a bar fixed to the car, having its foot loosely joined to the footof the section 14' by The parallel section 16/ is in sirnt lar mannerconnected to the fixed bar 21 by a link 22'.

The vestibule-doors 7 and 7' arearranged to slide in grooves formed inthe end of the car. To their tops are secured cords, cables, or chains23, which each pass over a pulley 24, which inay'conveniently bearranged in the end of a car, preferablyin the door-jamb. One end ofthis cord is attached in any suitable manner to the inside car, as byahook at 25, and passes around a pulley 26 in the end of a rod 27, whichlatter passes below the carfloor and is loosely secured to the lower orouter end of the bottom section 13' of the step-frame bar. The cordpassing around said pulley runs up overpulley 24 and is attached to thedoor.

The opposite side of the door has a cord running over a pulley 24. and

elevated position, allbut the lowest are in the plane of the platform,and the lowest is suspended immediately below, as shown at the right ofFigs. 1 and 2. To lower them, the lever is released from its stop andmoved about its fulcrum to the position indicated at the left of saidfigures. .Thebrace 12, which rigidly connects the lever with thebar 13,makes the latter a part thereof, and it is swung downwardly by the saidmovement. The arm 10' of said lever during this operation pushes thelink: 19 and arm 20, and as the latter is rigidly joined to bar 14. atits pivot 18 it aids in depressing bar 13 by turn ing on said pivot, thetwo bars being loosely connected by the steps and also connected insimilar manner to the parallel bars at the other end of said steps. Aseach pivot of the main sections of the bars 13, 14, 15, and 16, whenmoved,as stated, describesa circle about the pivots 17 and 1.8,respectively, it isobvious that the steps loosely connected therewithwill be withdrawn to a certainextent inwardly or under the car, theconnections before described being adapted for such effect. The lower orouter step is prevented from moving inwardly by the thrust of the links22 and 22', connected to the fixed arms 21 and 21. It will therefore bedropped in a vertical direction, drawing down the rods 27 and 27 andraising the sliding door through the medium of the cords and pulleysabove described. It will be understood that the inward movement of theupper steps independent of the lower is permitted by their looseconnection through the medium of the lower pivoted bar-sections. Thesteps are raised and the door lowered by a reversal of the abovedescribed operation. The lever is pulled to the vertical position.- Bythe two short arms thereof 12 and 10 the bars 13 and 14 and thecorresponding parallel bars 15 and 16 are moved about pivots 17 and 18,the upper steps are moved outwardly and up, and the bottom one is alsodrawn up until they all assume the position shown at the right ofFigs. 1and 2. The weight of the door will obviously aid the operator in raisingand lowering the steps.

Since by my construction the steps on one side at least will usuallybein the elevated posi-.

tion and form a part of the platform, the area of the latter willthereby be so much extended,

' evenwhcn the steps on the other side are down,

that it is possible to make the fixed part of the platform narrower thanusual Without seriously affecting its total capacity. By this means, ifdesired, four wide steps can be used on each side, as indicated in thedrawings, in which each step may be considered as a foot in width, andthe lowest one when down fourteen inches from the ground. When bothseries of steps are raised and locked and the doors lowered, theincrease of the area of the platform inclosed in the vestibule, ascompared with one of usual size, is very marked.

By this arrangement both the brake-wheel and the coupling-lever areunder cover and within the vestibule, and since the latter is extendedto the sides of the car and with its buffer-frame reaches to similarparts on an adjoining car, the side walls of the train are madecontinuous in the same planes, and resistance of air against the end ofthe car 18 thereby avoided. Air-blasts and dirt are also effectuallyexcluded from the car-doors.

Another advantage of the PIBSGDUIUJPI'OVB- ment is that the steps can beraised and securely inclosed at the proper time to prevent jumping ontothe moving train. It also provides means for guiding departingpassengers, the steps being let down only upon the proper side.

The levers for raising and lowering th steps can be locked, if desired.

The gist of the invention does not conslst in the particular form of thelever lllustrat ed, nor in a lever of any kind, as other means might besubstituted, and the details of the construction may be varied in otherdirections by mechanical skill, so long as substantially the sameprinciples of operation and construction are employed.

It may be observed that the steps are at all times maintained in ahorizontal position, and that they can be used when partially raised, ifheld in such position by the lever or other means. It is further worthyof notice that the steps are partially or wholly counterbalanced by thedoor, so that little power is required to move them.

I am aware that steps have been constructed to be raised to the plane ofthe platform, such construction being described in my patent, No.382,679. In such prior device, however,

the steps were necessarily moved out beyond the side of the car, and aport-ion of the steps were inverted during the operation of raising andlowering. It is characteristic of my present improvement that the stepsare raised directly up within the area of the platform and all of themkept continually horizontal and are adapted for use as. steps atdifferent heights. They are also combined with inclosing doors and avestibule-platform. Such a platform is not broadly of my invention, butonly the construction and combination hereinafter pointed out.

In Patent No. 382,679, granted me May 15, 1888, are described stepswhich are adapted to be raised to the plane of the platform; but in suchoperation all of the steps were not kept in horizontal position, wherebythey could be used as steps under different vertical adjustments abovethe lowest position,as in the case with my present construction.

Having thus described my invention, what I desire to secure by LettersPatent,.is-

1. A car having an inclosed or vestibuled platform of the full width ofcar, steps'adapted to be raised and secured in the plane of saidplatform, and a vestibule buffer-frame, also IIO ' 4. A car having aplatform as wide as itself and an inclosnre provided with movable doorson the sides and steps adapted to be lowered and kept at all timeswithin the horizontal area of the platform, substantially as set forth.

' In testimony whereof I have signed this specification in the presenceof two subscribing witnesses.

ARTHUR J BARBER.

WVitnesses: v

BENJ. R. CATLIN, ARCH. M. CATLIN.

